Ubuntu Unleashed 2013 Edition: Covering 12.10 and 13.04, Eighth Edition

foreach

The foreach construct performs a statement block for each element in a list or array:

@names = ("alpha","bravo","Charlie");foreach $name (@names) {  print "$name sounding off!\n";}

The loop variable ($name in the example) is not merely set to the value of the array elements; it is aliased to that element. That means if you modify the loop variable, you’re actually modifying the array. If no loop array is specified, the Perl default variable $_ may be used:

@names = ("alpha","bravo","Charlie");foreach (@names) {  print "$_ sounding off!\n";}

This syntax can be very convenient, but it can also lead to unreadable code. Give a thought to the poor person who’ll be maintaining your code. (It will probably be you.)

Note

foreach is frequently ...